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Be Amazing: Finally Get Your Own Hoverboard

Whether you're looking to become invisible, swallow a sword, quit smoking, find Atlantis, get out of jury duty, buy the Moon, sink a battleship, perform your own surgeries, or become a ninja, our new book Be Amazing covers all the essential life skills! This week, we'll be excerpting a few lessons from the book.

YOU WILL NEED

"¢ 1 childhood dream
"¢ The technology to fulfill it

Tip: DON'T BE FOOLED BY IMPOSTERS

Frankly, we're still bitter at Robert Zemeckis. Not only did his 1989 movie, Back to the Future Part II, taunt us with its totally awesome hoverboard chase scenes, but the director himself went on to encourage rumors that the floating object of lust really did exist. Press interviews from the time record him answering questions about special effects with, "What do you mean, how did we do it? It's a real hoverboard. It flies. Michael [J. Fox] just practiced a lot." But Zemeckis's cruel teasing didn't end there. When the 3-movie DVD set came out in 2002, it included a mock behind-the-scenes documentary detailing how Zemickis had ostensibly gotten real hoverboards from Mattel and featured scenes of movie crewmen "testing" the boards out in a field.

Tip: VISIT AN AUCTION

According to Ketzer.com, a movie memorabilia site, one of the main hoverboard props used in Back to the Future Part II was sold at a Christie's auction in 1991. Although on display for many years at the Planet Hollywood restaurant in Beverly Hills, the board was auctioned again in 2000, this time to a private collector.

Tip: TURN TO SCIENCE

Owning a real-life personal hovercraft is not an impossible dream. In fact, one such device actually had a cameo in the opening ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. Called the Airboard, this machine is (unfortunately) much larger and clunkier than a hoverboard—really more the size of a small scooter. Another company, called Future Horizons, sells a hovering device that actually has the size and look of a hoverboard. In both cases, however, the principles at work aren't really very Marty McFly-esque. Instead, the machines are based on basic hovercraft technology, using small motors and fans to force air into a bag beneath the vehicle. The whole contraption floats on the air trapped between the bag and the ground. This means that any hoverboard you can buy today won't be able to "fly" more than 2 or 3 inches high. Another downside: They're expensive. The Future Horizons model, for instance, retails for $9,000, although you can buy a set of detailed plans that show you how to build one yourself for $50.

Also on Mental Floss:

DID YOU KNOW? Marlon Brando hated memorizing lines so much that he posted cue cards everywhere to help him get through scenes.
He even asked for lines to be written on an actress's posterior. (That request was denied.)